Golf all-county: Nyack's Alex Ferrante completes checklist

Nyack senior made list of ambitions, achieved them all

Jul. 2, 2013

Alex Ferrante, named Rockland Golfer of the Year, practices at Rockland Country Club in Sparkill on June 28, 2013. Ferrante will attend Fairfield University in the fall on a scholarship. ( John Meore/The Journal News ) / John Meore/The Journal News

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The rest of the first team

Kevin Deegan (Pearl River): The senior led the Pirates to an 11-2 record. Deegan placed third at the county championship, shooting a 78. Issac Gorenstein (Tappan Zee): A sophomore, Gorenstein enjoyed a breakout year in which he anchored the county champion Dutchmen, leading the team with a 3.72 average differential. Gorenstein was one of four Rockland players to make the final-round cut at sectionals. Luke Grennan (Tappan Zee): The junior and Gorenstein were the only players on Tappan Zee to play in all 12 matches. Grennan missed the final-round cut at sectionals by one stroke. Jack Sheehan (Suffern): Sheehan posted the top average differential in the county (1.72) and stormed back on the back nine at sectionals, shooting a 37 to make the cut for the final day. Sheehan will attend Campbell University in North Carolina next year. Devin Solar (Clarkstown South): After four years of close calls and near-misses, the senior made the state team for the first time. Solar was tied with three players for the cut, and made the top nine by one stroke. Coach of the YearChip Foley (Tappan Zee): In his first year at the helm, Foley sent three players to the sectional tournament and guided the Dutchmen (11-1) to a decisive repeat county championship.

At the beginning of the season, Nyack senior Alex Ferrante laid out a list of goals he wanted to accomplish in his final varsity season. One by one, he checked off each item until, eventually, there was nothing left.

Win every regular-season match? Check.

Rockland County champion? Check.

Make the Section 1 team for states? Check.

Qualify for the Federation tournament? Check.

Finish in the top five at Federations? Check.

Ferrante, The Journal News Rockland Golfer of the Year, said the season unfolded exactly how he pictured it.

“The season was both complements of bad and good. … They evened each other out to be just right,” he said. “It was never too good, it was never too unbelievable. It was how I imagined it.”

Ferrante not only was a top-five finisher at the four major tournaments (county, section, state, Federation), but also led or held a share of the lead deep into each one.

He missed the cut or did not qualify in any of them last year.

After missing the top-10 cut for the county tournament in 2012, he won it this year. After missing the cut for the final round at sectionals last year, he tied for first before losing in a playoff. After not qualifying for states last year, he led the first day. And after not qualifying for Federations, he led going to the final hole.

So an argument could be made that Ferrante is the county’s “Most Improved Golfer” as well. Ferrante said he made no significant changes to his swing, but got on a cardiovascular regimen that included 3-5 miles of running and hills.

Although he achieved his goal of top five at Federations, victory was nearly his, if not for a quadruple-bogey on the final hole that made him slip from first to fourth place. Ferrante pulled out his Blackberry and showed a picture he took of a sign that hangs before the first tee at Bethpage Black, the site of the tournament.

“This is just demoralizing; when you show up, you see this,” he said.

The sign read: “Warning — the Black course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly-skilled players.”

The 7,400-plus-yard course has been home to the U.S. Open twice (2002 and 2009), and will host The Barclays again in 2016 after hosting the tournament last year.

“In retrospect, it’s easy to say that I should have slowed down, but at that time, there’s a lot of things going on in your head and you don’t focus on particularly one thing on the hole,” said Ferrante, who will golf for Fairfield University on the Division I circuit next year. “Looking back, I feel like I had no control on that hole.”